Unless you are careful upfront and during implementation, multivendor solutions rarely provide worry-free ways for a service provider to meet customer needs. But done right, our close partnerships have simplified cloud deployment and support for our customers, and help ensure end-to-end visibility. Building off of a successful relationship, Cisco and EMC recently set a standard for such partnerships with their announcement of a “Three Paths to the Cloud” strategy.

The strategy benefits providers and customers alike by reducing complexity and enabling the leading time to market and lowest total cost of ownership for converged cloud infrastructure. The “Three Paths to the Cloud” are based on: Read More »

Cisco IBSG’s recent interviews with about 45 enterprise CIOs and architects clearly revealed that enterprises have a preference for private cloud. They want to maintain control over their IT, especially where the architecture is new and skills need to be built. In addition, they are not comfortable with accepting externally provided cloud solutions (although there are certainly exceptions).

At the same time, the survey indicated that once enterprises have gained private-cloud experience, they are more willing to allocate this architecture to an external provider.

This is reminiscent of the classic outsourcing cycle, where corporate functions are moved externally once they have become a commodity.

Service providers continue to struggle to monetize the tsunami of data traffic flooding their networks from consumers and business customers alike. While data traffic is growing exponentially, revenue is relatively flat. In engagements with major service providers and global enterprises, Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) has uncovered potential ways for service providers to generate additional revenue by helping software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers deliver a better experience to their enterprise customers. This blog describes one way service providers can participate in a SaaS market estimated to reach $30 billion by 2013.By 2015, Forrester Research predicts the SaaS market will exceed $78 billion, representing more than 80 percent of the global public cloud market.

Security Concerns Can Limit SaaS Benefits

Many large enterprises today have embraced SaaS as a way to Read More »

As I’ve discussed, service providers are faced with growing network complexity, exploding video and data traffic, and an increasing number of devices connected to their networks. With the proliferation of these devices, sometimes referred to as the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) revolution, service providers need ways to immediately lower operating expense while delivering and enabling new services.

The purchase of ClearAccess will allow Cisco to enable service providers to better deliver, manage and monetize their services while helping to improve operational efficiencies and customer experiences. When implemented as a part of Cisco Prime, service providers will have a complete set of tools to manage their networks end-to-end, including within the home and across any connected device, amid the ongoing proliferation in network traffic. Some of the advanced services that can be supported include:

Up to this point, I’ve made a strong case for how important visibility into the connected home network is to service providers. I’ve shown how the culture of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is already taking root, and why it is essential for service providers to meet the needs of consumers and businesses if they want to stay competitive. The question remains, how will service providers achieve this?

On March 28, 2012, Cisco announced its intent to acquire privately-held ClearAccess, a provider of TR-069-based software to service providers for the provisioning and management of residential and mobile devices. ClearAccess management and software capabilities will augment Cisco Prime – Cisco’s network management software portfolio – by offering a set of powerful and sophisticated tools for provisioning, monitoring and managing bandwidth usage, parental controls, and diagnostics to connected devices in the home.

TR-069 technology provides a standardized means for describing remote home gateways. TR-069 can be likened to the DOCSIS standard used by cable companies, and there are many flavors to Read More »

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